Galatasaray are considering whether to make a loan bid for Manchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic, according to TV100.

The Turkish outlet claims that manager Okan Buruk has “lost patience” with Tanguy Ndombele and he has asked the club’s vice president Erden Timur to explore whether Kovacic could be brought in as his replacement.

Kovacic was only signed from Chelsea for an initial £25m (with £5m in add-ons) at the start of July, so it would be a surprise if the Croatian was let go so soon.

The 29-year-old has made 11 starts in all competitions for City, but his form and fitness has meant that manager Pep Guardiola has used him sparingly since the October international break.

Kovacic has started just once in the Premier League in 2 months

After being named in the starting lineup for 5 of the first 6 league fixtures he was available for, the midfielder has found minutes harder to come by recently.

The defeats to Wolves and Arsenal may have coloured the thinking of manager Pep Guardiola. Since those back-to-back losses, City are undefeated in the league, with Kovacic’s only start in that time coming against Bournemouth at the beginning of November.

City are unlikely to sanction Kovacic’s departure

With Kevin De Bruyne and Matheus Nunes both out injured, the Premier League champions would be shooting themselves in the foot if they allowed another midfielder to leave.

There is already speculation that Kalvin Phillips will be sold, so loaning out Kovacic is unlikely to be considered unless the club are contemplating an overhaul in the middle of the park during the January transfer window.

City don’t usually do a lot of business midway through the season so, if Guardiola is unhappy with Kovacic, Galatasaray and other teams may have to wait until the end of the campaign to make their move.